A study on the pros and cons of the climax series: Focusing on excellence in baseball

Abstract

In this study, I reviewed the pros and cons of playoffs in the field of sport philosophy, and derived the points in questioning the pros and cons. The purpose of this study was to gain a new perspective on the institutional characteristics of professional baseball, including the climax series, from the points discussed.

In the previous research, athletic excellence was an issue, so in this study I considered institutional characteristics of professional baseball from the viewpoint of excellence of baseball. As a result, the following points became clear.

1. Like the pennant race, the climax series competes for the overall scoring ability of the entire team, including striking ability, running ability, defensive ability, and situation judgment ability. Therefore, the climax series is not at the expense of measuring baseball excellence.

2. Excellence in long-term battles is not only a prerequisite for entering the top in the pennant race, but also a prerequisite for participating in series that require excellence in short-term battles, such as the climax series and the Japan series. On the other hand, excellence in short-term battles is a prerequisite to win the climax series and participate in the Japan Series, but it is not a prerequisite for entering the higher ranks in the pennant race and is not a prerequisite for participating in the climax series NPB values excellence in long-term battles over excellence in short-term battles.

3. The institutional feature of professional baseball is that there is no system that only requires excellence in short-term battles.